TW202316560A - Support tool, substrate processing device, and method for manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are technologies comprising a plurality of support portions for supporting a substrate, at least one upright portion having a first space formed therein, and a temperature sensor provided in the first space and having a temperature-measuring portion for measuring the temperature of the substrate, wherein at least one of the support portions has a second space formed therein in communication with the first space, and is configured to enable the temperature-measuring portion to be installed in the second space.

Description

Support member, substrate processing apparatus, and manufacturing method of semiconductor device

The present disclosure relates to a support member, a substrate processing device, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.

As one process of the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, for example, a process of forming a film on a substrate is performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, in order to measure the temperature of the substrate with high precision when processing the substrate, it is required to bring the temperature sensor close to the substrate. prior art literature patent documents

Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2020/59722

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The present disclosure provides a technology that can bring a temperature sensor close to a substrate when processing the substrate. [means to solve the problem]

The technology provided according to an aspect of the present disclosure is configured to be provided with: a plurality of supporting parts, which support the substrate; at least one upright part, forming a first space inside; and a temperature sensor, which is arranged in the first space and has a device for measuring the temperature of the substrate The temperature measuring part; at least one of the supporting parts has a second space communicated with the first space inside, and the temperature measuring part can be installed in the second space. Invention effect

According to the present disclosure, the temperature sensor can be brought close to the substrate while the substrate is being processed.

Hereinafter, one aspect of the present disclosure will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 . The drawings used in the following description are all schematic, and the dimensional relationship of each element shown in the drawings, the ratio of each element, etc. do not necessarily match the actual ones. In addition, the dimensional relationship of each element, the ratio of each element, and the like do not necessarily match in a plurality of drawings.

(1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus The substrate processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a process tube 11 as a supported vertical reaction tube. 12 and an inner tube 13 as an inner tube. The outer tube 12 is made of quartz (SiO ₂ ), and is integrally formed in a cylindrical shape with an upper end closed and a lower end opened. The inner tube 13 is formed in a cylindrical shape with upper and lower ends opened. The cylindrical hollow part of the inner tube 13 forms the processing chamber 14 for carrying the wafer boat 31 in, and the lower end side (open space) of the inner tube 13 constitutes the furnace port 15 for carrying the wafer boat 31 in and out. As will be described later, the wafer boat 31 is configured to hold a plurality of substrates (hereinafter also referred to as wafers) 1 arranged in a long row. Therefore, the inner diameter of the inner tube 13 is set larger than the maximum outer diameter of the substrate 1 to be processed (for example, a diameter of 300 mm).

The lower end portion between the outer pipe 12 and the inner pipe 13 is airtightly sealed by a manifold 16 which serves as a mouth flange portion constituting a substantially cylindrical shape. A manifold 16 is detachably mounted to the outer tube 12 and the inner tube 13 for replacing the outer tube 12 and the inner tube 13, respectively. By supporting the manifold 16 on the frame body 2 of the substrate processing apparatus 10, the process tube 11 is installed vertically. Sometimes, the inner tube 13 is omitted from the process tube 11 in the figure.

An annular exhaust passage 17 having a constant cross-sectional width is formed by a gap between the outer pipe 12 and the inner pipe 13 . As shown in FIG. 1 , one end of the exhaust pipe 18 is connected to the upper side wall of the manifold 16 , and the exhaust pipe 18 communicates with the lowermost end of the exhaust passage 17 . The other end of the exhaust pipe 18 is connected with an exhaust device 19 controlled by a pressure controller 21 , and a pressure sensor 20 is connected in the middle of the exhaust pipe 18 . The pressure controller 21 is configured to feedback-control the exhaust device 19 based on the measurement result from the pressure sensor 20 .

The gas introduction pipe 22 is provided below the manifold 16 and communicates with the furnace mouth portion 15 of the inner pipe 13 . The gas introduction pipe 22 is connected to a source gas supply device, a reaction gas supply device, and an inert gas supply device (hereinafter referred to as a gas supply device) 23 . The gas supply device 23 is configured to be controlled by a gas flow controller 24 . The gas introduced into the furnace mouth portion 15 from the gas introduction pipe 22 flows into the processing chamber 14 of the inner pipe 13 and is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 18 through the exhaust passage 17 .

A seal cap 25 closing the opening at the lower end is in contact with the manifold 16 from below in the vertical direction. The seal cover 25 is formed in a disk shape substantially equal to the outer diameter of the manifold 16, and is formed so that the boat lifter 26 protected by the boat cover 37 installed in the transfer chamber 3 of the housing 2 moves up and down in the vertical direction. . The boat lifter 26 is composed of a motor-driven feed screw shaft device, a bellows, and the like. The motor 27 of the boat lifter 26 is configured to be controlled by a drive controller 28 . The rotary shaft 30 is arranged on the center line of the seal cover 25 and is rotatably supported, and the rotary shaft 30 is configured to be rotationally driven by the motor 29 controlled by the drive controller 28 . The wafer boat 31 is vertically supported on the upper end of the rotating shaft 30 . In this embodiment, the rotation mechanism is constituted by the rotation shaft 30 and the motor 29 . The rotation mechanism is configured to rotate the boat 31 and to rotate the substrate 1 when the boat 31 rotates.

The crystal boat 31 as a support is equipped with a pair of upper and lower end plates 32, 33, and vertically erected between the end plates as three upright pillars (posts) 34, a plurality of support portions 35 on the long side The three pillars 34 are arranged at equal intervals (the same pitch width) in a direction (a direction parallel to the pillars 34). The support portions 35 provided on the same stage among the three pillars 34 protrude so as to face each other. By inserting the substrate 1 between the support portions 35 of the same segment of the three pillars 34 , the wafer boat 31 arranges and holds a plurality of substrates 1 horizontally and centered with each other. In addition, by inserting the heat insulating plates 120 between the support portions 39 of the same stage of the three pillars 34, the plurality of heat insulating plates 120 are aligned and held horizontally and centered with each other. There may be different spacing widths between the substrate 1 and the heat insulating board 120 .

That is, the wafer boat 31 is configured to divide the substrate processing area between the end plate 32 to the end plate 38 holding the plurality of substrates 1, and the heat insulating plate area between the end plate 38 to the end plate 33 holding the plurality of heat insulating plates 120. , it is configured that the heat insulating plate region is disposed below the substrate processing region. The heat insulating portion 36 is constituted by the heat insulating plate 120 held between the end plate 38 and the end plate 33 .

The rotating shaft 30 is configured to support the wafer boat 31 while being lifted from the upper surface of the sealing cover 25 . The heat insulating part 36 is provided in the furnace mouth part 15, and is comprised so that it may heat-insulate the furnace mouth part 15. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, a motor 29 for rotating the wafer boat 31 is provided below the sealing cover 25 . The motor 29 has a structure in which a hollow motor or a hollow shaft is motor-driven by a belt or the like, and the rotation shaft 30 penetrates the motor 29 .

The heater unit 40 as a heating unit is arranged concentrically outside the process tube 11 and is supported by the housing 2 . Therefore, the heater unit 40 is configured to heat the substrate 1 in the substrate processing region held by the boat 31 . The heater unit 40 has a housing 41 . The case 41 is made of stainless steel (SUS), and is formed in a cylindrical shape with a closed upper end and an open lower end, preferably a cylindrical shape. The inner diameter and overall length of the casing 41 are set larger than the outer diameter and overall length of the outer tube 12 .

The heat insulating structure 42 is provided in the casing 41 . The heat insulating structure 42 is formed in a cylindrical shape, preferably a cylindrical shape, and the side wall portion 43 of the cylindrical body is formed in a multilayer structure.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a top wall portion 80 as a top covers the upper end side of the side wall portion 43 of the heat insulating structure 42 to close the internal space 75 . An exhaust hole 81 , which is a part of an exhaust passage for exhausting the atmosphere of the internal space 75 , is annularly formed in the ceiling wall portion 80 . The lower end, which is the upstream end of the exhaust hole 81 , communicates with the internal space 75 . The downstream end of the exhaust hole 81 is connected to an exhaust duct 82 . The cooling air supplied to the space 75 is configured to be exhausted through the exhaust hole 81 and the exhaust duct 82 .

Next, the structure of the heater unit 40 will be explained using FIG. 2 . In FIG. 2, the processing substrate is marked as "1" and omitted. The heater unit 40 may be divided into a plurality of regions (five regions in FIG. 2 ) in the longitudinal direction so that a heater as a heat generating portion is provided for each region, and thus constituted as a plurality of heater stacks. A heater thermocouple 65 for measuring the temperature of the heater is provided for each zone.

Next, the outline of the temperature sensor 211 that measures the temperature of the substrate 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . The temperature sensor 211 is configured to rotate together with the substrate 1 as the boat 31 rotates and the substrate 1 rotates. The temperature sensor 211 is constituted to include: a temperature measuring portion 211b for measuring the temperature of the substrate 1; and a cable 211c as an accommodating portion that bundles and accommodates a main body portion (to be described later) for covering Element wires constituting the temperature measurement unit 211b. The temperature sensor 211 is not limited to a thermocouple, as long as it can measure temperature as an electric signal, it can be other sensors such as a resistance temperature detector. Although the number of temperature measuring parts 211b is the same as the number of zones of the heater, the number is not limited to this number. allow. There is no need to compare with the heater thermocouple 65, the temperature measurement part 211b is arranged at a position close to the substrate 1, the temperature measurement part 211b is arranged inside the support part 35, and the cable 211c is pulled out through the inside of the hollow support 34 of the wafer boat 31 To the bottom of wafer boat 31. The cable 211c pulled out to the lower part of the wafer boat 31 passes through the hole of the rotating shaft 30 provided in the hole of the sealing cover 25 and is routed to the transmitter 221 under the sealing cover 25 . According to such a configuration, the cable 211c is arranged in the wafer boat 31 up to the transmitter 221, and since it is completely isolated from the processing chamber 14 including the processing space for processing the substrate 1, the rotation of the substrate 1 and the wafer boat 31 does not cause any damage. Disconnection of the element wire constituting the temperature measuring part 211b in the cable 211c. In addition, since the temperature sensor 211 is not exposed to the processing chamber 14, the accuracy of temperature detection is maintained.

The transmitter 221 is fixed to the lower portion of the rotating shaft 30 , is provided at the boundary between the processing chamber 14 and the transfer chamber 3 adjacent to the processing chamber 14 , and has a structure to move together with the rotating shaft 30 similarly to the substrate 1 . The hole through which the cable 211c passes passes through the rotary shaft 30, and this structure makes it possible to pull out the cable 211c to the outside of the processing chamber 14 (for example, the lower part of the rotary shaft 30) while being vacuum-sealed using a hermetic seal or the like. device 221.

Then, the transmitter 221 converts the electrical signal (voltage) from the temperature measurement unit 211b into digits, mounts it on radio waves, and transmits it by wireless transmission.

The receiver 222 is fixed in the transfer chamber 3 as the area below the sealing cover 25, is used to receive the signal output from the transmitter 221, and has a terminal (output terminal) 222a for outputting the received digital signal through serial communication, or A terminal (output terminal) 222b for converting the received digital signal into an analog signal such as 4-20mA and outputting it. A cable 223 is connected between the output signal terminal of the digital signal or analog signal and the temperature display (not shown) or the temperature controller 64 to input the temperature data to the temperature controller 64 .

In this embodiment, the temperature control system is constituted by the temperature sensor 211 , the transmitter 221 , the receiver 222 and the temperature controller 64 . With this configuration, wireless transmission is realized between the rotating part composed of the temperature sensor 211, wafer boat 31, rotating shaft 30, and transmitter 221, and the receiver 222 fixed on the device, which are mechanically separated. , while maintaining the temperature data transfer path. In addition, since the rotating unit composed of the temperature sensor 211 , the boat 31 , the rotating shaft 30 , and the transmitter 221 rotates integrally, the cable 211 c is not wound around the boat 31 .

The signal output from the output terminal 222a or the output terminal 222b of the receiver 222 is input to the temperature controller 64, and the temperature controller 64 displays it as temperature data. In addition, by performing temperature control of the heater unit 40 based on temperature data input to the temperature controller 64, compared with temperature control by conventional cascaded thermocouples provided between the outer tube 12 and the inner tube 13, The substrate temperature can be controlled more precisely.

Next, the operation at the time of loading the wafer boat will be described. When the substrate 1 is loaded on the wafer boat 31 , the entire wafer boat 31 is located in the transfer chamber 3 , and the transmitter 221 is located near the floor of the transfer chamber 3 . The receiver 222 is fixed to the inner wall near the floor of the transfer chamber 3 . Afterwards, the loading of the substrate 1 on the wafer boat 31 is completed, and the wafer boat 31 and the transmitter 221 are lifted by the wafer boat lifter 26 (refer to FIG. 1 ). The transmitter 221 rises from the lower portion of the transfer chamber 3 toward the top and away from the receiver 222 . Thereafter, the sealing cover 25 is brought into contact with the manifold 16 to be fixed, and the wafer boat 31 is accommodated in the processing chamber 14 .

The transmitter 221 digitally converts the input electrical signal (voltage), carries it on the radio wave and sends it to the receiver 222 fixed on the inner wall of the transfer chamber 3 by wireless transmission, and the receiver 222 is far away from the transmitter. 221. The receiver 222 is connected to the temperature controller 64 provided outside the transfer chamber 3 via a cable 223 .

By using the constitution of wireless transmission from the transmitter 221 to the receiver 222 , it is possible to control the temperature of the processing chamber 14 in real time based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 211 incorporated in the wafer boat 31 . In addition, the details will be described later, but even during the process, the temperature can be controlled based on the temperature detected when the temperature sensor 211 is close to the substrate 1, so that the temperature of the substrate 1 can be stabilized at the target temperature in a short time. . In addition, since the configuration from the transmitter 221 to the receiver 222 is wireless transmission, there is no signal line (wired) in the transfer chamber 3 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent signal wires from interfering with the transfer machine, wafer boat 31, etc., and to prevent data communication abnormalities caused by disconnection. In addition, even if the temperature of the wafer boat 31 on which the processed substrate 1 is lowered to the transfer chamber 3 rises temporarily, since the transfer is wirelessly carried out in the transfer chamber 3, it is possible to prevent thermal damage. Data communication is abnormal.

Next, the controller 200 of the control computer as a control unit will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . Controller 200 has: computer main body 203, and computer main body 203 comprises CPU (central processing unit) 201 and memory 202 etc.; As the communication IF (interface) 204 of communication part; display/input device 206 . That is, the controller 200 includes components that are general-purpose computers.

The CPU 201 constitutes the core of the operation unit, and is configured to execute the control program stored in the memory device 205 and execute the recipe (for example, a recipe) recorded in the memory device 205 according to an instruction from the display/input device 206 . The recipe includes temperature control from step S1 to step S9 described later as shown in FIG. 10 .

In addition, the memory 202 which is a temporary storage unit functions as a work area of the CPU 201 .

The communication part 204 is electrically connected with the pressure controller 21 , the gas flow controller 24 , the driving controller 28 and the temperature controller 64 (these may be collectively referred to as sub-controllers). The controller 200 can exchange data on the actions of each component with the sub-controllers via the communication section 204 . The temperature controller 64 is composed of a control unit 64 a , a thermocouple input unit 64 b for inputting temperature information from the heater thermocouple 65 and the temperature sensor 211 , and a control output unit 64 c for outputting a control signal to the heater unit 40 .

Next, heat generation control of the heater unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a heater driving device 80A in any one of the plurality of regions shown in FIG. 2 . The heater driving device 80A has a driving circuit 82A. This drive circuit 82A includes a power supply 84A, a heating wire 86A, a circuit breaker 88A, a contactor 90A, a thyristor 92A as a power supplier, and an ammeter 94A as a measurement unit.

The power supply 84A supplies electric power used by the heating wire 86A to the driving circuit 82A. In this embodiment, an AC power supply is used as the power supply 84A. Although a power supply is connected to each drive circuit in the present embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. For example, the same power supply can be used for multiple drive circuits.

The heating wire 86A is a member that generates heat when power is supplied. These heating wires 86A constitute heaters serving as heat generating parts of the respective regions of the heater unit 40 .

The circuit breaker 88A is disposed between the power supply 84A and the heating wire 86A in the driving circuit 82A. This circuit breaker 88A is a device that cuts off the accidental current flowing when the drive circuit 82A fails or becomes abnormal.

The contactor 90A is provided between the circuit breaker 88A and the heating wire 86A in the drive circuit 82A. This contactor 90A is a device that opens and closes the drive circuit 82A. The opening and closing operation of the contactor 90A is controlled by the abnormality detection controller 74 .

The thyristor 92A is disposed between the contactor 90A and the heating line 86A in the drive circuit 82A. The thyristor 92A is a device that controls the electric power supplied from the power supply 84A to the heating wire 86A. This thyristor 92A is turned ON/OFF (ON/OFF) by the signal output from the control output part 64c of the temperature controller 64. As shown in FIG.

The ammeter 94A is arranged between the contactor 90A and the heating wire 86A in the driving circuit 82A. This ammeter 94A is an instrument for measuring the current flowing through the drive circuit 82A. The current measurement value measured by the ammeter 94A is configured to be sent to the abnormality detection controller 74 .

The heater thermocouple 65 is arranged near the heating wire 86A. The temperature detected by the heater thermocouple 65 is configured to be sent to the thermocouple input unit 64 b of the temperature controller 64 . Similarly, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 211 is configured to be sent to the thermocouple input unit 64 b of the temperature controller 64 . Using at least one of the temperature detected by the heater thermocouple 65 and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 211, the control section 64a executes the temperature control program preset in the temperature controller 64, and the result is output to the thyristor 92A.

In particular, considering the temperature reduction of the future process, at least one of the temperatures detected by the temperature sensor 211 is mainly used, and the temperature control program preset in the temperature controller 64 is executed by the control part 64a, and the result is output to thyristor 92A. This is because even if the temperature of the heater thermocouple 65 is measured, since the heater thermocouple 65 is far away from the substrate 1, it can be easily estimated that it is difficult to control the temperature in response to a slight temperature change. On the other hand, since the temperature sensor 211 is provided inside the support portion 35 and arranged near the end of the substrate 1, it is considered that even a slight temperature change can be detected.

The temperature controller 64 and the abnormality detection controller 74 are controlled by the controller 200 .

Next, a description will be given of a boat assembly as a support composed of the boat 31 and the temperature sensor 211 . First, the results of a preliminary experiment conducted to deepen the understanding of the temperature sensor provided in the wafer boat module of the present embodiment and the temperature measurement of the wafer will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 .

As shown in FIG. 6, a wafer 101 with a thermocouple is held on a support 35 provided on a support 34 of a wafer boat 31, and a thermocouple 102 is arranged on a support 34 so as to be positioned on the wafer with a thermocouple. Near Circle 101. For example, when the wafer 101 with thermocouples is heated to 200°C, by changing the distance (d) between the wafer 101 with thermocouples and the thermocouple 102, Thermocouples on wafer 101 and thermocouple 102 are used to measure the temperature. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the temperature difference (ΔT [° C.]) and the elapsed time (t [min]). Here, the distance (d) is 0 mm (A), 0.005 mm (B), 0.1 mm (C), 0.3 mm (D), and 1 mm (E). As shown in Fig. 5, the closer the distance (d) is, the smaller the temperature difference becomes, and it becomes the smallest at the time of contact (d=0mm). This is because heat is transferred well by thermal conduction.

Therefore, it was found that contact with the measurement object (wafer 101) was the most effective method for obtaining accurate results of thermocouple temperature detection. However, in the temperature measurement method shown in FIG. 6, the thermocouple is arranged in the same space as the measurement object. In actual substrate processing, since the thermocouple is arranged near the measurement object, it is considered that it will affect the surface temperature of the measurement object. gas flow. In addition, since the processing conditions such as processing gas or temperature are the same as those of the measurement object, the thermocouple itself must have high heat resistance, and there is concern about metal contamination by the thermocouple.

Usually, the temperature is detected by the wafer 101 with thermocouples before processing, and the detection results are used to control the temperature using other thermocouples by making use of correction values and the like during substrate processing. In the future, as the process temperature decreases, it is expected that by arranging the thermocouple as close as possible to the measurement object, it is possible to measure the temperature during the substrate processing process while suppressing external interference.

Therefore, in the wafer boat (hereinafter also referred to as wafer boat assembly) 31 of the present embodiment, it is configured by assembling the temperature measuring portion 211b of the temperature sensor 211 inside the supporting portion 35 for By supporting the substrate 1 and being in contact with the substrate 1 , the temperature of the substrate 1 can be measured more accurately.

The wafer boat module of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10 . As described above, the temperature sensor 211 is configured to include: the temperature measurement unit 211b that measures the temperature of the substrate 1; and the cable 211c that bundles and accommodates the main body (described later) covered with plain wire constituting the temperature measurement unit 211b. . As shown in FIG. 7 , the cable 211c is pulled out to the lower portion of the boat 31 through one of the plurality of pillars 34 of the boat 31 , and a space (first space) 341 is provided inside the one pillar 34 . The cable 211c pulled out to the lower part of the wafer boat 31 is accommodated and guided inside the L-shaped cylindrical portion 76 connected to the support portion provided at the lowermost end of the support column 34. 35 below (below). In this way, since the cable 211c pulled out from the temperature measuring part 211b is integrally installed on the wafer boat 31 in a state of being isolated from the processing space, the cable 211c will not be broken even when the wafer boat 31 rotates, and the temperature can be stabilized. Measurement. In addition, since the space 341 in which the temperature sensor 211 is installed is separated from the processing chamber 14 by the pillar 34 and the cylindrical portion 76 , the influence of the processing gas on the temperature sensor 211 can be prevented. Therefore, the temperature of the substrate 1 can be measured with higher accuracy. In addition, metal contamination of the substrate 1 due to the temperature sensor 211 can be suppressed.

The sealing cover 25 supports the process tube 11 via the manifold 16 and the O-rings 111 , 112 when the substrate 1 is processed, thereby sealing the processing chamber 14 . A hole is formed in the center of the sealing cover 25 through which the boat receiving portion 72 passes. The boat receiving portion 72 is sealed by an O-ring 113 and can be rotated by a motor 29 while maintaining a vacuum in the furnace.

The barrel portion 76 accommodating the cable 211 c is configured to pass through a hole opened at the center of the boat receiving portion 72 and come out from under the sealing cover 25 . The cylindrical part 76 coming out from the bottom of the sealing cover 25 is fixed on the boat receiving part 72 by a fixing method capable of vacuum sealing.

An end plate 33 serving as a lower end portion of the boat 31 is provided on the boat receiving portion 72 . The cylindrical portion 76 configured to protrude from the center of the boat receiving portion 72 toward the processing chamber 14 extends in the lateral direction, and is connected to the support column 34 in which a space 341 is formed.

The end plate 33 serving as the bottom plate of the wafer boat 31 is provided with a concave portion for erecting the pillar 34 having a space 341 formed therein. In order to fix the pillar 34 having the space 341 formed therein, a concave portion is provided on the upper portion of the pillar 34 having the space 341 formed therein. The support 34 having the space 341 formed therein is fixed to the end plate 32 serving as the top plate of the wafer boat 31 by the fixing member 71 . In addition, the space 341 and the processing chamber 14 are configured so that they can be partitioned off by a concave portion provided on the upper portion of the pillar 34 . In this way, the pillar 34 on which the temperature sensor 211 is assembled in the space 341 is separated from the main body of the wafer boat 31 , and has a structure assembled on the sealing cover 25 .

According to this structure, the width (pitch) between the support parts 35 is equal between the pillars 34 provided with the spaces 341 inside and the pillars 34 without the spaces 341 provided inside, and the space 341 is formed inside. The pillar 34 is fixed on the wafer boat 31 so that the heights of each supporting portion 35 disposed on the pillar 34 become equal.

As mentioned above, the supporting part 35 in which the temperature measuring part 211b is arranged is separated from the wafer boat 31 and is configured to be replaceable. Therefore, in order to have the same influence on the supported substrate 1 as other supporting parts, it can be combined with the other supporting parts. The support part 35 in which the temperature measurement part 211b is not arrange|positioned is arbitrarily set as a different structure. For example, in order to make the conduction heat to the support part 35 uniform, the material of the support part 35 may be changed. In addition, the external appearance of the support part 35 in which the temperature measurement part 211b is arrange|positioned does not have to be different from the external appearance of the support part 35 in which the temperature measurement part 211b is not arrange|positioned, and may be the same. In this specification, the space formed in the support portion 35 is referred to as a second space to distinguish it from the space 341 formed in the pillar 34 . Details of the second space will be described later.

The wafer boat 31 including the temperature sensor 211 is placed on the wafer boat receiving part 72 , and the wafer boat receiving part 72 is rotated by the motor 29 so that the wafer boat 31 rotates together. Also, the sealing cap 25 does not rotate. Since the temperature sensor 211 is integrally installed on the wafer boat 31, the temperature sensor 211 can stably measure the temperature even when the wafer boat 31 rotates.

By connecting the cable 211c pulled out under the sealing cap 25 to the transmitter 221 rotating together with the boat receiver 72, the substrate temperature can be measured while the substrate 1 is rotating.

As described above, the heater unit 40 that heats the substrate 1 is divided into a plurality of areas and controlled. This is to control the temperature of the plurality of substrates 1 mounted on the wafer boat 31 to be uniform. Therefore, each zone is provided with a heater thermocouple 65 for control. It is preferable that the temperature measuring sections 211b provided in the wafer boat 31 are also provided in the same number.

The positional relationship between the support portion 35 and the temperature measurement portion 211b will be described with reference to FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b). The temperature measurement part 211 b is assembled inside the support part 35 of the boat 31 which is in contact with the end part of the substrate 1 . That is, the support portion 35 is configured to separate the processing space from the space in which the temperature measurement portion 211b is installed, with the wall portion of the support portion 35 as a boundary. A plurality of supporting parts 35 are provided on one pillar 34, and at least one supporting part 35 has: a first surface 351 as an outer wall contacting and supporting the substrate 1; a space (second space) 353 for disposing the temperature measuring part 211b ; and the second surface 352 facing the space 353 as an inner wall. That is, the first surface 351 is opposed to the processing chamber 14 including a processing space for processing the substrate 1 , and the second surface is opposed to the space 353 isolated from the processing chamber 14 . By providing the temperature measuring portion 211b inside the supporting portion 35 of the supporting substrate 1, the temperature sensor can be brought closer to the wafer even during the process, and the wafer temperature can be accurately measured. In addition, since the temperature measurement unit 211b is arranged at a position where the temperature of the end portion (peripheral portion) of the substrate 1 can be measured, it is possible to accurately measure a substrate that is more responsive to temperature fluctuations (heating, cooling, etc.) than the temperature at the center. 1 Temperature at the end (periphery). By controlling the detection temperature of the temperature measurement unit 211b arranged at a position very close to the temperature of the substrate 1, it is expected that overshoot at the time of temperature rise can be suppressed.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 8( a ), the temperature measuring part 211 b is fixed close to the second surface 352 of the supporting part 35 . More preferably, as shown in FIG. 8( b ), the temperature measurement part 211 b is configured to contact the second surface 352 of the support part 35 . It is preferable that the temperature measurement part 211b is in contact with the support part 35 in terms of heat conduction, and can measure the temperature more accurately. In addition, even if the temperature measurement part 211b is not in contact with the support part 35, it can be adjusted in consideration of a possible increase in error. With such a configuration, the temperature measurement unit 211 b can be brought close to the substrate 1 placed on the support unit 35 , and the temperature of the substrate 1 can be measured with high precision.

FIG. 8( a ) shows a configuration of contacting the side wall side of the support portion 35 when the second surface of the support portion 35 is in contact, but it is preferable to contact the second surface above the mounting substrate 1 . In other words, in terms of temperature control, it is preferable to contact the surface close to the substrate 1 . In addition, the thickness of the second surface is set so as to have the same influence as that of the support portion 35 and the substrate 1 where the temperature measurement portion 211b is not provided. In addition, the wall portions of the support portion 35 may have the same or different thicknesses on the surface, side surfaces, and bottom surfaces of the support substrate 1, respectively.

A detailed structure of the temperature sensor 211 will be described with reference to FIG. 9 . The thermocouple constituting the temperature measurement section 211b is composed of two element wires 211d, 211e at each position, which must be insulated from each other. Therefore, the element wires 211d and 211e are covered with the covering material 211f as the main body. The element wires 211d and 211e are insulated using an insulating tube such as a quartz thin tube, a ceramic tube, or an alumina sleeve as the covering material 211f. The covering material 211f is bundled to constitute the cable 211c as the housing portion. The main body portion 211f constituting the cable 211c is provided at least in the space 341 of the support 34 . In FIG. 9 , the main body portion 211f is divided into a plurality of pieces so that it can bend from the inside of the pillar 34 to the inside of the support portion 35 . In addition, the temperature measuring part 211b is configured to be taken out from the main body part 211f in the vicinity of the support part 35 . A plurality of temperature measurement units 211b are provided on the cable 211c. As a result, the temperature sensor 211 (temperature measuring part 211b) can be provided inside the support part 35, and the temperature sensor 211 (temperature measuring part 211b) can be close to the wafer even during the process, so that it is possible to accurately measure wafer temperature. In addition, although the insulating material 354 arranged between the element line 211d and the element line 211e shown in FIG. 9 has a plate shape, it is not limited to this shape. Any structure can be used as long as the element wire 211d and the element wire 211e can be insulated. An alumina sleeve as the accommodation portion 211c is not provided with the main body portion 211f.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the temperature sensor 211 having a plurality of temperature measuring units 211b is provided on one column was described, but the temperature measuring units 211b may be dispersedly arranged on a plurality of columns.

A temperature sensor 211 is assembled on at least one of the plurality of pillars of the wafer boat 31 supporting the substrate 1 . Here, if the temperature sensor 211 is assembled in a plurality of pillars, the temperature at a plurality of positions on the circumference can be measured. The temperature of the edge portion of the substrate 1 generally has a temperature difference in the circumferential direction, and in the case of a device without a boat rotation mechanism, if the temperature is measured at only one position, the measured temperature will deviate from the wafer average temperature. However, if the temperature is averaged by installing the temperature sensor 211 to each pillar, a temperature closer to the average temperature of the wafer can be measured.

Although the example in which the temperature information of the temperature measuring part 211b drawn out from the processing chamber 14 is transmitted wirelessly has been described, it may also be configured to be transmitted through a slip ring.

Next, a sequence example of a process of forming a film on a substrate (hereinafter also referred to as a film formation process), which is one of processes of manufacturing a semiconductor device (component) using the substrate processing apparatus 10 , will be described with reference to FIG. 10 .

An example of forming a silicon film on the substrate 1 using source gases and reaction gases will be described below. In the following description, the operations of the respective units constituting the substrate processing apparatus 10 are controlled by the controller 200 and sub-controllers.

In the film-forming process in this embodiment, a film is formed on the substrate 1 by performing a predetermined number of times (one or more) a cycle of non-simultaneously performing the following processes: supplying the source gas to the substrate 1 in the processing chamber 14 process; process of removing source gas (residual gas) from processing chamber 14 ; process of supplying reactive gas to substrate 1 in processing chamber 14 ; and process of removing reactive gas (residual gas) from processing chamber 14 .

(Board loading: step S1) The transfer device and the transfer device lifter are operated by the drive controller 28 to hold and load (wafer loading) a plurality of substrates 1 in the substrate processing area of the boat 31 . A plurality of insulation panels 120 have been held and loaded in the insulation panel region of the boat 31 .

Then, the boat lifter 26 is operated by the driving controller 28, and the boat 31 holding the substrate 1 and the heat insulating plate 120 is loaded into the process tube 11 and carried into the processing chamber 14 (boat loading). At this time, the sealing cap 25 is in a state of airtightly closing (sealing) the lower end of the process tube 11 via the O-ring 112 (see FIG. 7 ).

(Pressure adjustment and temperature adjustment: step S2) The exhaust device 19 is controlled by a pressure controller 21 so that the processing chamber 14 becomes a predetermined pressure (vacuum degree). At this time, the pressure in the processing chamber 14 is measured by the pressure sensor 20, and the exhaust device 19 is feedback-controlled according to the measured pressure information. The exhaust device 19 is kept in an operating state at least until the processing of the substrate 1 is completed.

In addition, the substrate 1 in the processing chamber 14 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater unit 40 . At this time, the temperature controller 64 feedback-controls the power supply to the heater unit 40 according to the temperature information detected by at least one of the heater thermocouple 65 and the temperature sensor 211, so that the processing chamber 14 becomes a predetermined temperature. distributed. The heating of the processing chamber 14 by the heater unit 40 continues at least until the processing of the substrate 1 is completed.

In addition, the rotation of the boat 31 and the substrate 1 is started by the motor 29 . Specifically, when the motor 29 is rotated by the driving controller 28 , the substrate 1 is rotated along with the rotation of the boat 31 and the transmitter 221 . Due to the rotation of the motor 29, the rotation of the boat 31, the transmitter 221, and the substrate 1 continues at least until the processing of the substrate 1 ends.

＜Film Formation Treatment＞ When the temperature in the processing chamber 14 is stable at the preset processing temperature, the following four steps are executed sequentially, namely steps S3-S6.

(Raw material gas supply: step S3) In this step, source gas is supplied to the substrate 1 in the processing chamber 14 .

In this step, the raw gas system introduced into the processing chamber 14 from the gas introduction pipe 22 is flow controlled by the gas flow controller 24, flows through the processing chamber 14 of the inner pipe 13, passes through the exhaust passage 17 and is discharged from the exhaust pipe 18 . At this time, N ₂ gas flows into the gas introduction pipe 22 at the same time. The flow rate of N ₂ gas is regulated by the gas flow controller 24 , and is supplied to the processing chamber 14 together with the source gas, and is discharged through the exhaust pipe 18 . By supplying the source gas to the substrate 1 , a layer having a thickness of, for example, less than one atomic layer to several atomic layers is formed as the first layer on the outermost surface of the substrate 1 .

(Purge Gas Supply: Step S4 ) After the first layer is formed, the supply of the source gas is stopped. At this time, the processing chamber 14 is evacuated by the exhaust device 19 , and the unreacted raw material gas remaining in the processing chamber 14 or the raw material gas contributing to the formation of the first layer is discharged from the processing chamber 14 . At this time, the supply of N ₂ gas to the processing chamber 14 is maintained. The N ₂ gas functions as a purge gas, thereby enhancing the effect of exhausting the gas remaining in the processing chamber 14 from the processing chamber 14 .

(Reactive gas supply: step S5) After step S4 is finished, the reactive gas is supplied to the substrate 1 in the processing chamber 14 , that is, to the first layer formed on the substrate 1 . The reaction gas is thermally activated and supplied to the substrate 1 .

In this step, the reaction gas system introduced into the processing chamber 14 from the gas introduction pipe 22 is flow controlled by the gas flow controller 24, flows through the processing chamber 14 of the inner pipe 13, passes through the exhaust passage 17 and is discharged from the exhaust pipe 18 . At this time, N ₂ gas flows into the gas introduction pipe 22 at the same time. The flow rate of N ₂ gas is regulated by the gas flow controller 24 , supplied to the processing chamber 14 together with the reaction gas, and discharged from the exhaust pipe 18 . At this time, the reaction gas is supplied to the substrate 1 . The reaction gas supplied to the substrate 1 reacts with at least a part of the first layer formed on the substrate 1 in step S3. As a result, the first layer is thermally nitrided and changed (modified) into the second layer in a non-plasma manner.

(Purge gas supply: step S6) After the second layer was formed, the supply of the reaction gas was stopped. Then, the unreacted reactive gas remaining in the processing chamber 14 or the reactive gas or reaction by-products that contributed to the formation of the second layer are discharged from the processing chamber 14 through the same processing sequence as step S4. At this time, similar to step S4, the gas remaining in the processing chamber 14 may not be completely exhausted.

(predetermined number of implementation: step S7) By performing the above four steps non-simultaneously, that is, asynchronously as one cycle, and performing this cycle a predetermined number of times (n times), a film having a predetermined film thickness can be formed on the substrate 1 . In addition, it is preferable that the film thickness of the second layer formed when the above-mentioned cycle is performed once is set to be smaller than a predetermined film thickness, and the above-mentioned cycle is repeated a plurality of times until the film thickness of the laminated second layer reaches a predetermined thickness.

(Purge and Return to Atmospheric Pressure: Step S8 ) After the film formation process is completed, N ₂ gas is supplied from the gas introduction pipe 22 to the processing chamber 14 and exhausted from the exhaust pipe 18 . _N2 gas was used as purge gas. Thereby, the processing chamber 14 is purged and residual gases or reaction by-products are removed (purged) from the processing chamber 14 . Simultaneously, cooling air is blown into the interior space 75 and is configured to cool the process tube 11 to effectively reduce the temperature of the process chamber 14 from the process temperature. At this time, according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 211 , the temperature controller 64 can control the cooling of the processing chamber 14 by the cooling air, or the temperature controller 64 can determine whether to stop the cooling. Thereafter, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 14 is replaced with an inert gas (inert gas replacement), and the pressure in the processing chamber 14 is returned to normal pressure (atmospheric pressure return). Here, based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 211 , the temperature controller 64 may determine whether to move to the next wafer boat for unloading.

(Board unloading: step S9) The lowering of the wafer boat lifter 26 by the drive controller 28 lowers the sealing cover 25 and opens the lower end of the process tube 11 . Then, the processed substrate 1 is carried out from the lower end of the process tube 11 while being supported by the wafer boat 31 (boat unloading) to the outside of the process tube 11 . The processed substrate 1 is taken out from the boat 31 (wafer discharge).

(3) Effects of this embodiment According to this embodiment, one or more of the following effects can be obtained.

(a) Since the temperature sensor can be brought close to the wafer even during the process, the temperature of the wafer can be accurately detected.

(b) The temperature at the end of the wafer can be detected. Compared with the temperature at the center, the temperature at the end of the wafer has better followability to temperature changes (such as temperature rise and temperature drop, etc.).

(c) By controlling the temperature detected by the temperature sensor incorporated in the boat (the temperature at the end of the wafer), overshoot during temperature rise can be suppressed, and temperature stabilization during temperature drop can be expected.

(d) Since the temperature can be controlled by a temperature sensor close to the wafer even during the process, the wafer temperature can be stabilized at the target temperature in a short time.

(e) Since the influence of the process temperature can be more accurately grasped, the temperature during the heat treatment of the wafer can be more accurately controlled, and the control precision of the process can be improved.

(f) The temperature of the wafer can be controlled more accurately and with good responsiveness in the low temperature region. As a result, the temperature recovery time can be expected to be shortened when the boat is raised or during temperature rise/fall. This increases throughput and reduces processing energy per wafer (energy saving).

The embodiments of the present disclosure have been specifically described above. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes can be made within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

The configuration of the support portion of the wafer boat may be a configuration in which grooves (support portions) are carved in pillars and substrates are placed in the grooves (support portions) as in the prior art. In addition, regardless of the shape of the support portion supporting the end portion of the substrate, a shape in which a cylindrical (for example, a C-ring) support portion is attached to the groove may be used.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an example of forming a film has been described, but the kind of the film is not particularly limited. For example, it can be applied to various types of films such as oxide films such as silicon oxide films (SiO films) and metal oxide films.

In addition, the film forming process includes, for example, CVD, PVD, a process of forming an oxide film, a nitride film, or both, a process of forming a film containing a metal, and the like. In addition, treatments such as annealing treatment, oxidation treatment, nitriding treatment, and diffusion treatment may be used.

In addition, although the substrate processing apparatus was demonstrated in the said embodiment, this invention is applicable to all semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. In addition, the present invention can be applied not only to semiconductor manufacturing devices but also to devices that process glass substrates such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) devices.

31: crystal boat (support) 34: pillar (upright part) 35: support part 211: temperature sensor

[ Fig. 1 ] is a front sectional view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [ Fig. 2 ] is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [ Fig. 3 ] is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a controller in a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [ Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a heater driving device of a heater unit and its control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [ Fig. 5 ] is a graph showing a temperature difference between a temperature measured by a thermocouple of a substrate with a thermocouple and a temperature measured by a temperature sensor arranged near the substrate. [FIG. 6] It is a figure explaining the measurement method of the measurement shown in FIG. 5. [ Fig. 7 ] is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 8] (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a wafer boat module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and is a view when the temperature measuring part is not in contact with the inner wall of the support part, and (b) shows the structure of the present disclosure. A longitudinal cross-sectional view of a schematic configuration of a wafer boat module according to one embodiment is a view when the temperature measurement unit is in contact with the inner wall of the support unit. [ Fig. 9] Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a temperature sensor of a boat module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [ Fig. 10 ] is a flowchart of a substrate processing process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

11: Process tube

14: Processing room

16: Manifold

25: sealing cover

29: motor

30: axis of rotation

31: crystal boat (support)

32: end plate

33: End plate

34: pillar (upright part)

35: support part

71: Fixed member

72: crystal boat receiving part

76: Barrel

111, 112, 113: O-rings

211: temperature sensor

211b: Temperature Measurement Department

211c: cable

341: space

Claims (18)

A supporting member includes: a plurality of supporting parts, which support the substrate; at least one upright part, forming a first space inside; and a temperature sensor, which is arranged in the first space and has a a temperature measuring part for measuring the temperature of the aforementioned substrate; At least one of the support parts is configured to form a second space communicating with the first space inside, and the temperature measuring part can be installed in the second space. Such as the support of claim 1, wherein The temperature measuring unit is arranged at a position capable of measuring the end of the substrate. Such as the support of claim 1, wherein The support unit has a first surface that supports the substrate, and a second surface that faces the second space where the temperature measurement unit is installed. Such as the support of claim 3, wherein The first surface faces a processing space for processing the substrate, and the second surface faces a second space isolated from the processing space. Such as the support of claim 3, wherein The temperature measurement part is disposed close to the second surface of the support part. Such as the support of claim 1, wherein The support unit is configured to be replaceable depending on whether or not the temperature measurement unit is disposed therein. Such as the support of claim 1, wherein A plurality of the aforementioned supporting parts for supporting the aforementioned substrates are arranged in a direction parallel to the aforementioned upright parts; The width between the support parts is configured to be equal regardless of whether the temperature measurement part is arranged inside or not. Such as the support of claim 1, wherein In addition, the temperature sensor includes a main body that covers at least the element wire constituting the temperature measurement part in the upright part, The main body portion is divided into a plurality, and is configured to be able to bend from the upright portion to the support portion. Such as the support of claim 1, wherein In addition, the temperature sensor includes a main body that covers at least the element wire constituting the temperature measurement part in the upright part, The element wire covered by the temperature measurement part is taken out from the main body part in the vicinity of the support part. Such as the support of claim 9, wherein A plurality of the aforementioned temperature measuring sections are provided in the aforementioned main body section. Such as the support of claim 1, wherein The aforementioned temperature sensor is provided in each of the aforementioned upright portions. A substrate processing device is equipped with a supporting member, and the supporting member includes: a plurality of supporting parts, which support the substrate; at least one upright part, forming a first space inside; and a temperature sensor, which is arranged on The aforementioned first space, and having a temperature measuring part for measuring the temperature of the aforementioned substrate; A connected second space, and the aforementioned temperature measuring unit may be disposed in the aforementioned second space. The substrate processing device according to claim 12, wherein It is further provided with: a rotating mechanism for rotating the aforementioned support member, The rotation mechanism is configured to rotate the substrate when rotating the support. The substrate processing device according to claim 12, wherein In addition, the aforementioned temperature sensor has at least: a main body for covering the element wire constituting the aforementioned temperature measuring part; and an accommodating part for accommodating the aforementioned main body; A cylindrical portion for guiding the accommodating portion is provided at a lower end portion of the support member. The substrate processing device according to claim 13, wherein It also has: a transmitter provided at the lower part of the above-mentioned rotation mechanism and configured to rotate similarly to the above-mentioned substrate, The aforementioned transmitter is configured to convert the input signal into digits. The substrate processing device according to claim 15, wherein Also having: a receiver for receiving a signal output from the aforementioned transmitter; and a controller connected to the receiver; The aforementioned receiver is configured to receive the digital signal wirelessly output from the aforementioned transmitter to the aforementioned receiver, convert the received aforementioned digital signal into an analog signal and output it to the aforementioned controller. The substrate processing device according to claim 16, wherein It is also provided with: a processing chamber; and a transfer chamber adjacent to the aforementioned processing chamber; The receiver is disposed on the inner wall of the transfer chamber away from the transmitter, and the transmitter is disposed at a boundary between the processing chamber and the transfer chamber. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: The process of supporting the substrate by a support, the support includes: a plurality of support parts, which support the aforementioned substrate; at least one upright part, in which a first space is formed; and a temperature sensor, which It is arranged in the aforementioned first space and has a temperature measuring part for measuring the temperature of the aforementioned substrate; A second space connected in space, and the aforementioned temperature measuring unit may be disposed in the aforementioned second space; and A process of processing the substrate while controlling the temperature of the processing space in which the substrate exists based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

Images